State Legislatures back issues from February 2007:
Democracy at Risk: How Political Choices Undermine Citizen Participation and What We Can Do About It.(Book review)
Feb 01, 2007; ... Democracy at Risk: How Political Choices Undermine Citizen Participation and What We Can Do About It, by Stephen Macedo and 18 other authors. 2005. Brookings Institution Press, Washington, D.C. 188 pages. $44.95 hardcover, $17.95 softcover. This collection by the American ...
Aged 21 and under.(LETTERS)(blood alcohol concentration limit)(Letter to the editor)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007; ... Editor: I am writing to make you aware of an error in the article "Lower is Even Better" in the December 2006 issue of State Legislatures. The article says that "All U.S. states have adopted a BAC limit of .02 or less for drivers aged 21 and under, in compliance with ...
Correction.(Correction notice)
Feb 01, 2007 ... In the "Bloggers Press for Power" article in the January issue, Rob Weber, director of public information at the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, was misquoted. What he did say was that blogs are "decentralizing the information distribution system." He did not ...
States take the lead on minimum wage.(STATESTATS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have adopted minimum wages that are higher than the federal rate of $5.15. Most raises came from laws passed by legislatures, but citizens in nine states set the minimum wage. Voters in Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Montana, Nevada and Ohio ...
After two months of counting ballots and political intrigue, the Pennsylvania House has a new speaker.(People & Politics)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... After two months of counting ballots and political intrigue, the Pennsylvania House has a new speaker. It also has a new majority. The Democrats claimed control of the House after a recount Dec. 21 gave Barbara McIlvaine Smith a 27-vote victory over her GOP opponent. That gave the ...
The election left the Oklahoma Senate tied 24-24, and on Jan. 2, members reached a power-sharing agreement.(People & Politics)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... The election left the Oklahoma Senate tied 24-24, and on Jan. 2, members reached a power-sharing agreement. Democratic Senator Mike Morgan was elected to a second term as president pro tem, but he will share that office with Republican Senator Glenn Coffee, who is co-president tem. Morgan ...
Two of Maine's history-making speakers are paired up in the Senate, taking turns at leadership in that chamber.(People & Politics)(Libby Mitchell and John Martin)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Two of Maine's history-making speakers are paired up in the Senate, taking turns at leadership in that chamber. Libby Mitchell was the first woman elected majority leader and speaker (1996) in the Maine House of Representatives. Now she is majority leader in the Senate. John Martin was ...
Carleton Turner.(People & Politics)(retirement of Texas Senate Segeant at arms)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Texas Senate Sergeant at arms Carleton Turner is retiring after 23 years in the Legislature. Turner started in the sergeant's office in 1983 and in only three years rose to the top post. There have been a lot of memorable moments during his legislative tenure, including the now notorious ...
Peter Shumlin.(People & Politics)(new pro tem president of the Vermont Senate)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Peter Shumlin is president pro tem of the Vermont Senate. This is a return ...
Women legislators are making leadership history around the country.(People and Politics)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Women legislators are making leadership history around the country. Colleen Hanabusa is the first woman to serve as president of the Hawaii Senate. The majority leaders in the California Senate and Assembly are both women: Senator Gloria Romero and Assemblywoman Karen Bass. Romero is the ...
New York Assemblyman Ron Canestrari, who has served for almost two decades, is the new Assembly majority leader.(People & Politics)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... New York Assemblyman Ron Canestrari, who has served for almost two decades, is the new Assembly majority leader. He replaces Assemblyman Paul Tokasz, who did not seek reelection. The New York Senate is losing ...
Ignition interlocks keep drunks from driving.(TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Convicted drunk drivers will need more than their key to start their cars in a growing number of states. They'll also have to breathe into a tube on an ignition interlock, which can be installed on a car to prevent it from starting or running if it detects alcohol in the driver's breath. ...
English--it's official.(TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Twenty-six states have statutes or amendments to their constitution ...
Women in state legislatures.(TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... There are 1,734 women legislators nationwide, which is 23,5 percent of all legislative seats. TOP 10 STATES 1 Vermont 37.2% 2 New Hampshire 36.3% 3 Minnesota 34.8% 4 Arizona 34.4% 5 Colorado 34.0% 6 Maryland ...
Video franchising gets easier.(TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... All companies interested in offering cable services to consumers before 2005 were required to negotiate separate agreements with each city before they could lay cable in the ground or place it along utility poles. In some states these agreements were valid for up to 15 years. In order to ...
Credit for religious classes.(TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS)(South Carolina Legislature's law)
Feb 01, 2007 ... The South Carolina Legislature approved a law last summer that allows high schools to give credit to students for off-campus religious study, also known as released time programs. Although other states, including Idaho, Minnesota, New York, South Carolina and Wisconsin, allow for students ...
Reforming health care legislative priority.(TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Health care reform was hot in legislatures across the nation in 2006 and the forecast for this session may be even hotter. Fueled by the increasing number of uninsured Americans, the declining number of employers offering insurance to their employees, the improved fiscal conditions in the ...
The benefits of cord blood.(TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS)(stem cell transplantation)
Feb 01, 2007 ... In the delivery room new moms can double the rewards of childbirth, by bringing a new life into the world and saving another. Since 1988, doctors have transplanted stem cells taken from umbilical cords and placentas of newborns into patients suffering from leukemia, various inherited ...
A grizzly debate.(STATELINE)(removal of grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Sometime soon the decision to remove grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park from endangered species protections is expected to become final. "Delisting does not mean walking away from the bears," says Chris Servheen, grizzly recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ....
Golden Gate for sale.(STATELINE)(Golden Gate Bridge district looking for sponsors)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... The Golden Gate Bridge district's board of directors is seeking corporate sponsors to help lower the district's $87 billion deficit. This might include installing signs at the south visitors area or on benches and sidewalks at the ends of the bridge. "This is not a naming rights deal," ...
Wild palm potential.(STATELINE)(Saw Palmetto)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... A common plant that grows abundantly in the forests and undeveloped pastures of southern Georgia may be an alternative cash crop for the state. Saw palmetto, a dwarf palm that also thrives in Florida and coastal South Carolina has berries that contain chemicals that are believed to relieve ...
Tick takeover.(STATELINE)(deer ticks spread in Rhode Island)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Rhode Island is being run over by ticks. Deer ticks, which can carry Lyme disease and babesiosis, have grown in numbers in recent years and spread across most of the state. Lyme disease causes high temperatures, muscle pain and headaches. More advanced cases lead to arthritis, encephalitis ...
No problem at the top.(STATELINE)(income of college presidents)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Although tuition is skyrocketing, more college presidents are earning an annual compensation of $500,000 or more, fueled in part by stiff competition from schools looking for the best candidates. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, 112 of the 853 public and private university ...
A focus on freshmen.(STATELINE)(Southeastern High School in Detroit, Michigan)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Across the country, high school freshman are considered more likely to drop out or be held back than other students. So programs aimed at this particular grade are popping up in hopes of keeping kids in school. The programs are designed to ease students into the pressures of high school by ...
Factory farm fears.(STATELINE)(feedlots causing pollution)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Big feedlots are contaminating water supplies with pathogens and chemicals, and polluting the air with foul-smelling compounds that can cause respiratory problems. The health of their neighbors, however, goes largely unmonitored, according to a series of scientific studies published ...
Cruise crime.(STATELINE)(Celebrity Cruises fined for polluting Strait of Juan de Fuca)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Washington state is fining the Celebrity Cruises company $100,000 for dumping more than half a million gallons of dirty water and sewage into the Strait of Juan de Fuca in the fall of 2005. The company blamed the spill on confusion about whether the ship was in state-governed waters. The ...
Driving dot to dot.(STATELINE)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Minnesota recently joined a few other states using highway "distance dots" to reduce tailgating. Highway 55 near Buffalo was chosen for the oval dots (about 2.5 feet wide by 7 feet in length) because it has a higher-than-average crash rate and constant tailgating. The dots are placed 225 ...
Senioritis vaccine.(STATELINE)(admissions of senior students being revoked by college authorities)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Once accepted at the college of their dreams, too many seniors are "checking out" of high school. From coast to coast, colleges and universities are revoking admission for students whose senior grades drop dramatically or who do not complete the rigorous course of study they promised in ...
Capitol wings.(STATELINE)(government planning to construct underground wings)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Idaho is looking at adding two underground wings to the state Capitol. "The Legislature has approved the construction, the bonds have been sold, the money's out there," says commission chairman Jack Kane. The underground wings are part of a larger renovation that ...
A cool down.(STATELINE)(Illinois plans effective energy consumption)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Illinois has turned down the temperatures this winter to save money. About 2,000 facilities including office buildings, warehouses and garages will lower daytime temperatures from the 70- to 72-degree range down to 68 degrees. When facilities are closed to ...
On the road to wellness: lawmakers want Americans to eat better, stop smoking, exercise and relax.
Feb 01, 2007; ... Dave Barry was kidding, but he was way ahead of the curve in 1985, when he advised everyone to "stay fit and healthy until you're dead." U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt, however, was dead serious when he said, in October 2006, that he wants to make Americans ...
The battle against base closures: state lawmakers were prepared to fight the most recent round of recommended closings of military bases.
Feb 01, 2007; ... Maine's Speaker John Richardson was stunned when the Department of Defense in May 2005 recommended closing 33 major military bases as well as a host of smaller facilities across the country and realigning another 22. "I was pretty sure that we were going to get hit in one way or ...
Brain drain: many legislative staffers are due to retire soon--taking with them a ton of experience.
Feb 01, 2007; ... When it comes to legislative proposals, Eddye McClure and her counterparts in Montana Legal Services have seen it all. "Don't try to reinvent the wheel," McClure tells rookie bill drafters. "There are no new ideas that haven't already been drafted in some form--ask one of us." ...
Connecting kids and lawmakers: students are getting involved in American democracy, and legislators are helping them.
Feb 01, 2007; ... The younger generation typically skips Election Day. Their interest in politics and government is dismal. But this past election, 2 million more young people voted than in the 2002 midterm election, a 24 percent increase. What's going on? Programs inspiring students to get ...
The unexpected legislator: in the midst of their grief, and with little time to prepare, these widows stepped into the political spotlight to fill their late husbands' legislative seats.
Feb 01, 2007; ... Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross identified five steps to grieving--denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. But many widows whose husbands die while serving in their state legislatures have added a step to the process: serving out his term. For many years, a husband's ...
As they see it.
Feb 01, 2007 ... "I'll look back on this one day and remember being there when the first female governor was sworn in, and I was there and I was only in the sixth grade." --Tina Persinger, 11, to the Daily News-Miner, at the inauguration of Alaska's first female (and youngest) governor, Sarah ...